Police reject criminal investigation into Tampere Steiner school leaders

Police will not open a criminal investigation into the leaders of a Steiner school in Tampere, Yle reports. Based on a preliminary assessment, police said there was no reason to suspect a crime.

Parents who requested the investigation alleged that the school leadership had failed to respond adequately to bullying, including incidents involving violence. The school leadership acknowledged shortcomings in addressing bullying in some cases and said it was prepared to improve its practices.

Some parents considered the alleged failures serious enough to ask police to investigate several school leaders. Their request also covered issues other than bullying and violence at the school.

Parents may appeal to prosecutor

Police said the material they had reviewed indicated that the complainants were clearly dissatisfied with the operations of the Tampere Steiner school and the association that runs it.

In its decision, police referred the parents to the Permits and Supervisory Agency, known as LVV, which oversees duties related to education and teaching. A complaint to the agency can concern any action by an authority, including procedural errors, misuse of discretion, inappropriate conduct by an official or other conduct contrary to good administration.

If the agency suspects a crime, it can submit an investigation request to police.

The parents are dissatisfied with the police preliminary assessment and are considering asking a prosecutor to order a criminal investigation. They said they had not been able to submit all material relevant to their request. Police granted them additional time to provide documents, but the parents considered the extension too short.

Police nevertheless decided, based on the material already submitted, that there was no reason to suspect a crime.

Police have investigated several violence cases

Yle reported in June that police had previously investigated several cases involving violence at the Tampere Steiner school. In one case, a boy who was 16 at the time received a fine for assaulting another pupil.

Police also investigated an assault in November 2023 involving four young people. The violence caused physical injuries, and the case is currently under consideration by prosecutors.

Yle is also aware of an investigation request concerning alleged sexual violence, filed by the mother of a pupil. According to the mother, another pupil sexually assaulted her child at the school. Both pupils are under 15.

Police ended that investigation after determining that no crime had taken place. The mother subsequently submitted the case to the prosecution service for assessment, where it remains under consideration.